Exposed flooring is maintained in various ways of different times utilizing selected liquids, respectively, cleaning, conditioning, and polishing the surface. Waxes, wax strippers, and intermediate cleaning solutions are still typically applied using a bucket and mop combination. The respective liquid is applied to the floor surface by repeatedly soaking the mop in the liquid and applying the liquid with the wet mop to the floor. This is a tedious and time consuming method and generally results in nonuniform distribution of the treatment liquids over the floor surface.
This tedious and slow method is still used; however, there are disclosures of record of apparatus to be used to speed up the process. For example, a liquid reservoir in the form of a tank is often attached to the exterior of a mop handle and also a distribution system is used for dispensing the floor preparation liquid onto the floor surface. Such assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: Barbato U.S. Pat. No. 2,618,799; Tillack U.S. Pat. No. 1,995,592; Jenkins U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,104; Ormerod U.S. Pat. No. 3,054,132; Wohl et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,081,481; Vosvikian et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,573; Gotberg U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,016; and Failing U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,311. These disclosures all indicate such a use of a tank with a dispensing system to eliminate the use of a bucket containing the liquid to receive the mop for its time consuming repeated soaking and the resulting often non-uniform distribution of the liquids.
There remained, however, a need for an improved assembly of a mop handle, liquid tank, and liquid distribution system to incorporate more equipment to insure the uniform distribution to all floor surfaces inclusive of those previously not reached at all or not conveniently reached because of overhead obstructions such as desks, bookcases, tables, beds, etc., and also to make it convenient to flexibly mount different mop heads for particular floor surface treatments, while always assuring uniform contact with a floor surface and uniform distribution of the particular liquid.